It is not something I know a lot about but if it's arthritis, the water will help a lot. I would take a call at your gym if they have one. Walking in the water is good. I like to take the barbells (the shorter ones not the longer ones) and push them down with elbows straight. Keep them in that position next to your thighs for a few minutes. You will feel it in your back and shoulders.

Hi,
I see you posted this a while ago, but thought I would answer you anyway.
I started swimming two weeks ago. Water aerobics and then lap swim.
I'm finding out how much fat does indeed float because when I lap swim my backside seems to be up more and when I kick off the wall, I noticed that I cannot stay under for very long. I seem to bob right up to the top.
But, nonetheless, my goal is to one day join Masters.

You can practice this and you will improve. I really recommend learning how to surface dive - diving down from the surface of the water to the bottom of the pools. Dive for rings is a great exercise for learning how to maneuver in the water. And you will be able to get down for underwater kicks off the wall but it actually takes a lot of strength and flexibility. Congrats on your new hobby!

I'm a swimmer :)

I used to swim a lot but, for one reason or another, life got in the way.

However, after a hip injury due to an accident while running, I returned to the pool for both rehab and cardio fitness purposes.

I currently swim laps once a week but I'm also looking to join a class at my gym (where I swim) called Hydro-Powered By Speedo - swimming challenges led by specially trained coaches, using training aids in and out of the pool.

In addition, I'm also about to start some open water swimming training. I have always loved swimming in the sea whenever I can, but now I'd like to extend that to river and lake swimming. The main reason for doing this is for the many health benefits that swimming in cold water brings.

Swim Day
 

Ooh ahh, the water felt good today.
I’m so out of shape though—could only swim 20 25 meters. I used to be able to breath a lot better, now I’m sucking air. :p

Hey Swimmers! Only 3 more months and I'll be back in the water here. Ice covered lakes now. Most of my swimming is a by product of some of the sports I do in the summer but I love the water, make me feel free to swim.

paddle on!

I'm living near a public pool for the first time in 30 years and have taken up swimming as my main exercise. I love it! I try to swim a mile 5 days a week. I was overdoing it and my shoulder started to hurt, so now I switch it up with a kick board and flippers. I hate the chemicals, but it's my best option for exercise now. My goal is to move to the beach in the next few years and swim daily in the ocean!

So many swimmers! wheeler, I try to swim a mile each time, too. Usually 3-4 days a week depending. I don't use kickboards or flippers though I will hold a pull buoy like a kickboard for some kick drills sometimes. Last time I swam I did all the competitive strokes except fly. That was kind of painful discovering what happens when you don't practice. Yikes!

I swam laps for 40 minutes in the pool on Sunday; according to my Fitbit I swam 1.25 miles.

There was a great article in The New Yorker this weekend about open water swimming. It's rather long, so you'll have to click on the link to read bit in full.


The Subversive Joy of Cold-Water Swimming

Britons are skipping the heated pool and rediscovering the pleasures of lakes, rivers, and seas—even in winter.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/...water-swimming?

I follow a German swimming FB page and every one is still swimming outside right now. It's crazy! I know people who do it but I never have. Maybe someday. I just was told I was fast enough to join a local Master's practice so I think I'm going to try that to step up my game.

I belong to the local YMCA which has an outdoor pool only (though heated). But I’m a wimp when it comes to cold air getting in and out of the pool! They only close the pool if the air temp drops below 40 degrees.

My grandson, who is on the YMCA swim team, still has practice 5 days a week though, and has a warm swim coat to put on when he’s not actually in the water.

He definitely makes me realize what a slow poke I am though. If I’m at the pool when he is he loves to say “let’s race”. But even if he gives me a 1/2 length head start he still beats me to the other end! I love swimming though and want to get back to it.

I have been really getting cold *inside* at the pool. I'm usually in the water for 2-3 hours at a time and I've been wondering if they make those swim parkas in really big sizes.

It doesn't matter if you're slow, it just matters that you're doing it, and especially if you love swimming! :)

I had my first open water coaching session yesterday. Although it wasn't in open water but in a swimming pool!

Main reason being that it's too cold to be in the water for too long at the moment, so my coach uses a swimming pool to teach the basics until it starts to get warmer. Usually this is by April, so I will have a couple more swimming pool sessions in the meantime.

As I've said previously, I can already swim, but I want to be able to swim more comfortably in the open water. So we began by working on developing my breathing technique and then my front crawl technique in order to improve my body position to make me as efficient as possible in the water.

Really enjoyed it and the time went quickly. I now have to go away and practice what I've learned before my next session in a few weeks time.